One Afternoon Before I Go
by Mo Fraser
Summary: Fíli and Vrílí have an afternoon together for Vrílí heads south with Thorin and others in a trading caravan. (prequel to 'Among the Fallen')


**A/N:** One shot for #khazad october on Tumblr.

* * *

 **One Afternoon Before I Go**

 **T.A. 2868, Early Fall – Ered Luin: Thorin's Halls**

"Adâd! Adâd!"

Vrílí winces when his son runs into his legs at full speed. "Oof," Vrílí grunts, bracing himself against the wooden table that he is standing at. "What are you doing? Where's amâd?"

"Dâd," is all that Fíli says as he wraps his arms around Vrílí's legs.

"Yes, Fí?"

"Can you play with me now," Fíli asks. He looks up at his father with his wide brown eyes.

Vrílí reaches down and scoops Fíli into his arms. "I'm afraid not. I've got work I need to finish for your uncle Thorin."

Fíli frowns. "But why can't Uncle 'Rin do it? I want to play," he whines as he fidgets with Vrílí's shirt ties.

"Thorin has work of his own that he needs to do. Besides I'm better than he is with numbers."

"I'm just fine with my numbers."

Vrílí turns to the door where Thorin is now leaning against the frame. Vrílí snorts. "I remember how good you are with numbers. I remember when you made those men said they needed six daggers for eight men and you only made forty."

"A mistake that anyone could have made."

"Anyone under the age of 16," Vrílí retorts.

Thorin crosses his arms. "If that's the case I suppose that you need to stay here and finish that rather than leaving me to finish it while you go play with Fíli. I'm sure he," Thorin steps forward to tickle Fíli where his bare belly has been exposed by his tunic riding up, "would enjoy that more than being sent back to Dís. Especially since we leave tomorrow for a few months."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Vrílí directs his question to Fíli as he fixes the dwarfling's tunic and vest.

Fíli nods emphatically.

"Thank you, khâzash," Vrílí says, clasping Thorin's shoulder.

Thorin grunts and shrugs his shoulders. "Just go one before I change my mind. I might not be bad with numbers but I certainly prefer a lot of other things over them."

Vrílí smiles, white teeth flashing, before exiting the dark room where the financial papers are kept. "So what do you want to do today?" Vrílí asks as they walk down the long stone corridor.

"Can we go outside?!" Fíli asks excitedly, bouncing up and down on Vrílí's hip. "Amâd never takes us. She says that Kí will just run away and we'll never see him again. I don't see anything wrong with that."

Vrílí nods, adjusting his hold on the dwarfling. He cannot believe how big – how heavy – Fíli has gotten over the last months. "He'll be more fun in the future. I promise. But for now, I know your mother would miss him very much if he were to get lost. Maybe when you're both older and you're better able to help your mother look after Kíli and Kíli less likely to run away you'll be able to go outside more often."

"But can we go outside today?" Fíli asks again. "Without Kí? Mister Dwalin was telling me about the ponies and I want to see them."

"I suppose we can, if that's really what you want to do," Vrílí says teasingly setting Fíli down. "But you'll need to get your hat and mitts; it's getting a bit chilly outside."

Fíli whoops and runs off down the hallway to retrieve his hat and mitts. Vrílí follows his son at a much more leisurely pace. He interlaces his fingers and stretches his arms in front of himself to relieve the knots and tightness that had set in during the hours he spend hunched over that table in the dim light. He had been trying to finish up any urgent work before sundown. The next morning they were leaving for Rohan in a trade caravan; one last trading mission before the snows would be too deep for them to leave their valley.

* * *

Outside the trees are changing colors, their red and orange leaves fall and float on the breeze. The wind pushes Fíli into Vrílí's legs.

"You alright?" Vrílí asks tugging Fíli's hat down around his ears.

Fíli nods. "Ponies?"

"We'll walk past them, but I thought we could do something different."

"Like what?" Fíli asks as he winds his small hand encased in a large woolen mitt into his father's hand.

"It's a surprise." Vrílí squeezes Fíli's hand.

Fíli looks up at his father with wide blue eyes. "A surprise?"

Vrílí winks.

Fíli bounces in his steps, still dragging his father forward towards the paddock where their ponies are kept.

When they get to the paddock Fíli scrambles up to sit on the top rung. Vrílí leans forward on the rung. "There's mine!" Fíli points to a spotted one the far edge.

"Yours?"

Fíli squirms. "I mean . . . It's the one that Mister Dwalin lets me ride. That makes it mine, doesn't it?"

"I think that makes it Dwalin's pony that he lets you ride sometimes," Vrílí says with a small smile.

"Oh," Fíli's sigh is full of disappointment.

"You'll get one of your own, but not until you're older."

Fíli frowns, "How do you know?"

"You might be my son, but you'll be king after Thorin. And what sort of prince wouldn't have a pony."

"But that means Kíli gets one, too," Fíli says petulantly.

"Yes," Vrílí nods. "But, you're older. You'll have one first."

"Oh. As long as I get to be first," Fíli says, his mood brightening.

Vrílí snorts in amusement. "Come on, goof. We're not going to just sit here and watch the ponies. I've got other plans for us." Vrílí grabs Fíli and flips the little dwarfling over his shoulder.

Fíli squeals in laughter even though he falls on his bottom rather than keeping his feet once he lands.

"What are we going to do?" Fíli skips by his father's side.

"You'll see."

"Where are we going?"

"Into the forest." Vrílí unconsciously checks his belt for his sword and dagger. Just in case. Even here, where they are mostly safe, there is always the risk of something happening within their borders.

"Amâd never takes us into the woods," Fíli says. There is an undertone of fear in his young voice.

"Don't worry," Vrílí ruffles Fíli's wavy blonde hair, "You've got me to protect you."

Fíli peers up at Vrílí. Fíli does not say anything for a few steps. "What are we going to do?"

Vrílí huffs an exasperated sigh. "So many questions!"

"Amâd always makes me stop asking questions," Fíli says sadly. "She says I ask too many."

"Well, you do ask a lot of questions."

"I just . . ." Fíli starts to say.

"Its fine," Vrílí interrupts. "You're a dwarfling. You're supposed to ask a lot of questions."

"Okay. But what are we going to do?"

Vrílí laughs. "This," he releases Fíli's hand and drops into a large pile of leaves that the wind has collected at the base of a small cliff.

Fíli makes a surprised noise when Vrílí disappears into a leaves, the fiery leaves flying into the air.

When Vrílí emerges from the leaves, he sees Fíli standing and staring at him with wide blue eyes. "Are you coming?"

Fíli bursts into a smile. He takes a few steps back before taking a running leap into leaves next to his father.

Vrílí quickly buries Fíli with leaves, pushing the small blonde head down.

"Dâd!" Fíli whines and pushes against his father.

Vrílí lets Fíli push him over. Fili scrambles on top of his father and starts covering his father's face with leaves. Vrílí laughs and tickles his son.

* * *

"Dâd, can we do this when you come back?" Fíli asks.

"When I get back it will be winter, little one."

"Oh," Fíli frowns, thinking. "Can we do it next year then?"

"Of course." Vrílí smiles down at Fíli.

Fíli smiles and the pair walks in silence back to halls in the darkening light, until Fíli breaks the silence. "I love you, Adâd."

"I love you, too, Fíli. We'll try to do more stuff like this when I get back."


End file.
